State: Informant Won't Affect Slain Officer Case

August 31, 1993|By TREVOR JENSEN Staff Writer

New information from a confidential FBI informant in the murder of Broward Sheriff's Deputy Patrick Behan will not affect the state's case against two men charged with the November 1990 slaying, prosecutor Chuck Morton said on Monday.

Morton and attorneys for Keith King, 20, and Tim Brown, 17, met on Monday with FBI Special Agent Thaddeus Buggs, who in January told the Sheriff's Office that he had information on the Behan case.

The information was labeled "Brady material," meaning it could prove damaging to the state's case.

The interview was postponed several times by the FBI, which said it was protecting an ongoing investigation.

Buggs said his informant had been told by a woman that another man, also named Keith, had told her he shot Behan on the morning of Nov. 13, 1990.

The other Keith, who was interviewed by detectives but was dismissed as a suspect early in the investigation, lived with Tim Brown at the time of the murder, said King's attorney, Vic Tobin.

However, when Sheriff's Office detectives interviewed the woman she changed her story, saying she had been told only that the second Keith was there when Brown and King shot Behan in the head.

Behan, 29, was shot outside a Pembroke Park convenience store almost three years ago as he filled out a report about some stolen cigarettes.

Police said King, of Fort Lauderdale, and Brown, of Hollywood, shot the deputy on a dare.

Morton said the Buggs' interview does not change the state's case against King and Brown, even if the other Keith was on hand when Behan was shot.

"The bottom line is still that Keith King and Tim Brown did the shooting," Morton said.

Tobin said the Sheriff's Office needs to delve further into the possibility that another man named Keith was the culprit. Tobin said he wants to interview this man, as well as the FBI's informant and the woman.

"The next step will be to unmask the [informant)," Tobin said.

Brown's attorney, Larry Davis, said his client was not affected by the Buggs interview.